In the constructioning industry, the cost and availability of kiln-fired bricks for construction purposes has often necessitated the use of other building materials such as sandstone blocks, wood, fibrous-cement panelling, metal panelling and so on. One form of building material which is both inexpensive and readily available is mud bricks. Another form is cement stabilized earth walls and rammed earth walls.
In the form of construction using mud bricks or blocks, the bricks are usually formed in a mould and are then allowed to dry in the sun until they have hardened to a state ready for construction. The mud-bricks or blocks are then used in a conventional manner and are usually mortared together to form a wall or the like. Such a construction method is very time consuming as the construction and the making of the bricks or blocks are separate procedures.
In the other forms of construction such as cement stabilized earth walls and rammed earth walls, the mud and cement material is cast as a hole by filling prefabricated form work with the suitably hardenable material. One problem with such a structure is that as the material dries and thereby hardens, the material has a tendancy to shrink and cause cracks and therefore shrinkage cracks are a major problem.